Accelerator



Nov. 25, 1924, 1,516,873

1.. M. WILLIAMS ET AL ACCELERATOR Filed Aug.'18. 1922 2 sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORS L. H. WILLIAMS P. .1. WILLIAMS BY 5.1., WILLIAM-5 ATTORNEYSNov. 25, 1924. 1,516,873

L. M. WILLIAMS ET AL ACCELERATOR Fil d Augl8, l9?) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR 4.. WILL/ANS p. WILL/AME B 5.1.. WILL/ANS ATTORNEYS PatentedNov. 25, 1924.

UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE.

LLOYD M. VIILLIAMS, PERCY J. WILLIAMS, ANB CHESTER L. WILLIAIIIS, OF SANFRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA; EEIIJIA F. WILLIAMS, ADI-I INIS'IR-A'ERII'L OFSAID CHESTER L. WILLIAMS, DECEASED, ASSIG-NORS T0 "WILLIAMS BROS,AIRCRAFT COR PO'RATION, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OFCALIFORNIA.

ACCELERATOR.

Application 11166. August 18, 1921. Serial Ho. 493,28.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LLOYD M. VVILLIAMs, PERCY J. WILLIAMS, andCrins'rnn L. VVIL- LIAMS lGSlCllDg at San Francisco, in the county ofSan Francisco and State of California, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Accelerators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in internal combustion engineaccelerators of the ty 3e used in connection with motor cars and whichprovide for control of the fuel.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide accelerator mechanismof the char acter described which may be readily and easily incorporatedwith the standard or factory equipped throttle controlling mecha nism ofcertain makes of motor cars without necessitating any material changesin the construction and arrangement of said standard mechanism orrequiring employment of skilled labor.

Another object of the invention is to provide accelerator mechanismwhich will permit of independent operation of the hand and foot operatedmeans so that when the hand operated means is operated the operation ofthe foot mechanism will not be effected and vice versa.

The invention further resides in the particularcombination,-inter-relation and relative arrangement of certainspecially and novelly constructed elements or parts of the mechanism,which elements provide for a general improvement in acceleratormechanism by Way of simplification of structural arrangement andreduction of the number of parts employed, by way of increasedcompactness and decreased cost of production and provision of an easierand more reliable and certain attachment and operation of the mechanism.

The invention possesses other advantages and features some of which,with the fore going will be set forth at length in the fol lowingdescription where we shall outline in full that form of the inventionwhich we have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying andforming a part of the present specification. In said drawings We haveshown one form of the construction of our invention, but it is to beunderstood that we do not limit ourselves to such form since theinvention as expressed in the claims may be embodied in a plurality offorms.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. l is a broken plan view of a portion ofan automobile showing the mechanism of this invention attached thereto.

Fig. is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken thru the foot boards andshowing partly in section and in elevation the foot operating means orpedal.

l ig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the specially constructedelements of the mechanism of this invention.

Fig. l is a cross sectional view taken on line 4id of Fig. 3.

5 is a top plan view of one of the justing members of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of member shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a broken top plan view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modifiedform of guide for the flexible wire.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of the foot or pedal operatedmechanism showing it partly in section and Fig. 9 is a fragmentarysectional View showing the socketed end of the pedal.

Referring to the drawings:

1 designates a foot board of an automobile of a well known make, thruwhich foot the board the usual steering mechanism 2 eX-- tends and uponwhich steering mechamsm a standard hand throttle controlling means 3 ismounted. The means 3 comprises a 1'0- tatable rod 4, an operating handle5 working in conjunction with a notched quadrant 6 of the steering wheel7. A crank arm 8 is attached to the lower end of the rod 4 and isdisposed beneath the floor boards. The

13 to the outer end of the crank arm 8, the

other end of the rod 11 extends to a point adjacent to the throttlevalve crank arm but is preferably, not directly connected therewith. Asa means of resilient connection, between the rod 11 and crank arm 10 weemploy a sleeve 14 longitudinally slidablc or movable upon the rod 11.The sleeve carries an apertured car 15 in the aperture of which a pin 16is fixedly mounted. This pin is pivotally secured by means oi? the usualelements 17 to the outer end of the throttle valve crank arm 10. Thesleeve 14 is held extended and in engagement with an adjustable stopmember 18 on the outer end of the rod 11, by a helical expansion s g 19which surrounds the rod Ill. and at ts ends abuts one endof the sleeve18 and a collar or stop member 20 surrounding and fixed to the rod 11 ata point spaced from the outer end of said rod. This spring normallyholds the sleeve so extended that the throttle valve will be closed.

To regulate the extent of the outward movement of the sleeve the stopmember 18 has an angularly faced head 22 at one end and is provided withinternal screw threads 23 within said head. These screw threadscooperate with the screw threaded end 24 of the rod- 11. The body of themember 18 is oppositely slotted from one end as at 24 and as a means forlocking the member in adjustedposition a cotter pin 25 is inserted th ruan opening provided in the rod and lies within the slots 24. By removingthe cotter pinthe member may be turned upon the rod to cause it to movelongitudinally. The carburetor is provided with the usual adjustingmechanism 26 which cooperates with theadjustable stop member 18 inadjusting the mechanism.

The foot operated mechanism comprises pedal means consisting of a baseplate 27 held by fastening elements 28 upon the foot board 1'. A- pedal29 is pivoted intermediateof'its ends as at 30 on the foot board 27"andis provided'with an opening 31 in its. outer end. Thru one side of theopening'aslot 32 is cut and corresponding to this an opening and a slot33 and 34, respectively are provided in the adjacent end of the baseplate 27. Preferably a slotted socket member 35 extends from the underside of the plate 27 in registration with the opening" 34. A flexiblewire 36 is connected at one endto the pedal 29 and likewise connected atits other end to the sleeve 14. A substantially semi-circular member 37is fixer to the upper end of wire 36 and engages in a. similar shapedseat 38 therefor, in the upper side of the opening in the pedal. Thisstructure provides for easy movement of the head in the opening or seattherefor, as to relieve strains on the wire 36. By having slots in thepedal, plate and socket, the wire and the member 37 may be quickly andeasily fitted into. and removed from connection with the pedal. Y

The other endof the wire is clamped upon the top of an extension 40carried by the sleeve 14. The extension 40 is provided with an opening41 thru which a headed screw or bolt 42 is inserted. Nuts 43 are turnedupon the screw threaded end of the bolt so as to bring the head of thebolt into position to clamp the wire 36 upon the extension 40, as shownin Figs. 3 and 4. The extension 40 is provided on opposite sides withflanges 44 between which the head of the bolt lies in such position thatthe head is held against turning by said flanges. These flanges arenotched as at 45 and the wire engages in the notches, as shown in Figs.3 and 4. end of the wire may be securely adjustably connected to thesleeve, the securingor ad justing or detaching being easily and quick lyefiected. r

As a means for guiding and holding the vire so as to provide for an easypulling thereof when the pedalis depressed, we employ means which willproduce a curve or are at a point intermediate of its ends. Since theline of'pull from the pedal is approximately at right angles to the lineor direction, of movement of the sleeve it necessary to provide thiscurve in the wire near a point where the same extends outwardly from therod so that the rod may be pulled freely. As shown in Fig. 1" we employa curved tube 46, one end of which extends into and is held upon atubular member 4'2, which latter is fixed to e the collar 20. The collar20 and tabular member 47 may be integral'or otherwise,constructed;

The wire 36 is extended thru-the tubular member 4'? and 'thru the tube46,. The tube 46 is preferably rigid and of such a curve that free andeasy pulling of the wire may be effected when the pedal isv depressedflWe do not wish to limit ourselves to the use of the curved rigid tube asa means for guiding and providing for a free and easy pulling of thewire. We have found that it is necessary to provide some meansbetweenthe ends of the wire as a'bearlng and guid mg means against or aroundwhich the wire may be pulled without undue friction and while we haveshown a curved rigid tube for accomplishing this, we wish it understoodthat we may employ any other means which will provide for this purpose.

Operation.

When the hand operatingmechanism 3 is. actuated 1n the usual manner toopen the sleeve 14 and pin 16, the crank arm- 10willbe moved so as toopen the throttle valve. During this movement, due to the flexibility ofthe wire 36, no movement is transmitted to the pedal 29 nor is thesleeve it moved relative to the rod 11.

When the foot pedal 29 is depressed a pull is communicated to the wire36 and the sleeve 14 is moved inwardly upon the rod 11 against theaction of the spring 19. When said sleeve 14 moves inwardly the crankarm 10 moves to open the throttle valve. This movement takes placewithout effecting any movement of the rod 11 or in any way moving thehand operating mechanism. Upon release of the pedal 29, the spring 19expands and moves the sleeve is to normal position and closes thethrottle valve. Thus it will be seen that operation of either mechanismindependently carried out.

Referring particularly to Figs. 7 and 8, wherein there is illustrated amodified form of the invention, the construction is the same as in theform hereinbefore described, except as regards the guarding and guidingmeans for the flexible wire 50. in this form the wire 50 is connectedwith the sleeve 14L at one end and with the pedal 29 at its other endand instead of having a curved rigid tube 46, we employ a flexible tube51. Preferably this tube is secured at its ends to the tubular member 47and socket member 35 of the base plate 27. The upper end of the flexibletube 51 engages in the socket 35 so that said upper end is held againstmoving when a pull is communicated to the wire 50. Thus the tube ismaintained in curved form and serves as an efiective guide and bearingto permit of free pulling of the wire and at the same time said tubewill flex when the rod 11 moves bodily. Thus operation of either thehand or footmechanism will not efiect operation of the other mechanism.

By the term swivel connection we wish it understood that we have in mindconnections other than those wherein a movement of the parts is a rotaryas well as a swinging movement and we consider a pivot conncction or ahinge connection to be equivalent to the swivel connection referred toherein, particularly inasmuch as in either and all connections themovement of the wire is limited in its passage through the slots inpedal and pedal pieces regardless of the character of the swinging orswivel connection.

l/Ve claim:

1. In an accelerator, the combination with the hand operated crank armand the throttle valve crank arm of the throttle valve controllingmechanism of an internal combustion engine, of a rod connected with thehand operated crank arm, a member relatively movable upon the rod andoperatively connected with the throttle valve crank arm, a springnormally holding said member extended, a foot operated means and aflexible element connected with said relatively movable member and saidfoot operated means, said foot operated means comprising a plate, apedal mounted upon said plate, said pedal having a socket adjacent toone of its ends and provided with a slot openin into said socket, saidelement adapt ed to enter said socket thru the slot and a member on theelement engaging in said socket, said plate having an end opening slotfor reception of the element and a depending slotted socket memberregistering with the slot and socket in said pedal.

In accelerator, the combination with the hand operated crank arm and thethrottle valve crank arm of the throttle valve controlling mechanism ofan internal combustion engine, of a rod connected with the hand operatedcrank arm, a member relatively movable upon the rod and operativelyconnected with the throttle valve crank arm, a spring normally holdingsaid member extended, a foot operated means and a flexible elementconnected with said relatively movable member and said foot operatedmeans, said foot operated means comprising a plate, a pedal nounted uponsaid plate, said pedal having a socket adjacent to one of its ends andprovided with a slot opening into said socket, said element adapted toenter said socket thru the slot and a member on the element engaging insaid socket, said plate having an end opening slot for reception of theelement and a depending slotted socket member registering with the slotand socket in said pedal, one end of said guide member engaging in saiddepending socket member.

3. In an accelerator, the combination with the hand operated crank armand the throttle valve crank arm of the throttle valve controllingmechanism of an internal combustion engine, of a rod connected with thehand operated crank arm, a member relatively movable upon the rod andoperatively connected with the throttle valve crank arm, a springnormally holding said member extended, a foot operated means, a flexibleelement connected with said relatively movable member and said footoperated means, a projection on the relatively movable member with whichsaid element engages, spaced flanges on said projection having slotstherein receiving said element, a bolt inserted thru said projectionwith its head engaging between said flanges and clamping the element tosaid projection and a nut holding said bolt in place.

4. In an accelerator, the combination with the hand operated crank armand the throttle valve crank arm of the throttle valve controllingmechanism of an internal combifsti'o'n engine, of a rod connected withthe hand operated crank arm, a member relativ -ely movable upon the rodand operatively connected with the throttle valve crank arm, springnormally holding said member eX- tended, a foot operated means, aflexible elel'i'ientconnec'ted With said relatively movable member andsaid foot operated means, a "slotted tubular member having internalscrew threads mounted upon said "rod and with which -said relativelymovable mem-v ber engages, said rod having screw threads coopei-"atingwith the screw threads of said tubular member and means for holding thesaid tubular n'iember in adjusted position arranged to engage in theslots ofsaidmernher. r

n an accelerator the con'i'bination with. the hand operated-crank armand the throttle valve crank arm of the throttle valve controllingmechanism of an internal combustion engine, of means of connectionbetween Said crank arms including a rod, 21 member movable relative tosaid rod and connected With said tl-irot tle valve crank arm, a footopera-"ted mechanism including a flexible element, said movable *member"having a slot therein in which the flexible element mounted and aheaded fastening member secured to said movable member, with itsheadclamping the flexible element. (5. I n' an accelerator the combinationWith the hand operated crank arm 'and th'e throttle valve crank firm o-ithethrottle valve controlling mechanism of internal -co1nbi'is'ti'onengine, or' means of connect-ion be tween said "crank arms including arod, a

member movab'le rela'itive to the rod andco'nneeted with one of'ea id"crank arms, a

member achn'stab'leen said rod and servingas a stop l'or'sa'idmovablemember, a pedal, means of ope "atrve connection between the pedal andthe movable member, said -ad'

